CIF/FOB Gulf Grain-Soybean barge bids inch higher, corn bids steady

CHICAGO, May 2 (Reuters) - Basis bids for corn delivered by barge to U.S. Gulf Coast terminals were steady on Friday, and soybeans firmed a bit, supported by sluggish farmer grain sales, traders said.

• Beijing is "evaluating" an offer from Washington to hold talks over U.S. President Donald Trump's crippling tariffs, China's Commerce Ministry said, signaling a potential de-escalation in the trade war that has roiled global markets.

• Solid export demand may prompt the U.S. Department of Agriculture to increase its forecast for 2024-25 U.S. corn exports and lower its outlook for ending stocks in a monthly crop report due on May 12, analysts said.

• Forecasts for heavy rainfall across the central U.S. this week and weekend - along with higher water levels on the Mississippi River at St. Louis - are delaying barge loadings in some areas, shipping sources said. BG/US

• CIF Gulf corn barges loaded in May traded at 77 cents over Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) May corn CK25 futures.

• Corn barges loaded in May also were bid at 77 cents over CBOT May futures, steady from Thursday. April loadings were bid at 79 cents over May futures, also steady.

• FOB export premiums for corn shipped from the Gulf in May were steady at about 86 cents over CBOT May corn futures.

• For soybeans, CIF Gulf barges loaded in May were bid at 81 cents over CBOT May soybean SK25 futures, up 1 cent. Export premiums for soybeans loaded from the Gulf in May were steady, at about 91 cents over CBOT May soybean futures.

• A group of South Korean flour mills bought an estimated 35,800 metric tons of milling wheat to be sourced from the United States in an international tender earlier this week, European traders said on Friday. Reports reflect assessments from traders and further estimates of prices and volumes are still possible later.

For displays of CIF basis, click on the codes in brackets:

U.S. CIF Gulf soybeans GRYM

U.S. CIF Gulf corn GRYN

U.S. CIF Gulf SRW wheat GRYO

U.S. CIF Gulf HRW wheat GRYP

For displays of FOB basis, please click on the following codes in brackets:

U.S. FOB Gulf corn GRZC

U.S. FOB Gulf soybeans GRZD

U.S. FOB Gulf SRW wheat GRZE

U.S. FOB Gulf HRW wheat GRZF

LINKS Corn prices page: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageid=corn-cash-market
Wheat prices page: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageid=wheat-cash-market
U.S. barge freight BG/US
U.S. export sales estimates USDA/EST
U.S. grain export summary GRA/U
Brazil soybean export prices SYBS
Brazil corn export prices SYBX
Argentina grain prices GRA/ARG
Russia grain prices GRA/RU